 |
| Photo Courtesy of interbasket.net |
After losing out on the gold medal in the 1988 Olympic games, the men's basketball team looked to regroup and find a new formula of success as the rest of the world began to make huge strides in the sport. As European stars were allowed to play and represent their countries, Team USA had only been allowed to construct rosters out of amateur players that were still playing in college. The loss in 1988 hit hard and only increased debate on whether or not players from the pros may join the Olympic team roster for the next Olympic games.
In the Spring of 1989, things began to take a turn as Borislav Stankovic of FIBA finally got his wishes to supply active NBA players for the 1992 U.S. team roster. Stankovic had longed for the inclusion of NBA players as he felt it would only do a huge service to the sport and increase its popularity on a global scale. NBA commissioner David Stern was on board with the idea; some of the players were less than thrilled.
Michael Jordan, who had already helped the United States take home gold in the 1984 Olympics was skeptical about joining the team and needed much more than just a simple request to get him over to Barcelona. Jordan wanted to be sure that there were other prominent players on the roster before he joined, he did not want to be the only NBA player on the team.
Fortunately Earvin "Magic" Johnson was more than welcome to take a spot on the team. Johnson was approaching the end of his historic career and felt that the potential of playing on the team alongside ballplayers that he had already respected for a long time coming, players like Larry Bird who Johnson had established a legendary rivalry with in the '80s. Johnson would finally have the opportunity to spend time and play alongside some of the best players he knew, an opportunity that he never had while chasing NBA titles every season; Bird had the exact same feeling, understanding that his career was closing out, he also wanted an opportunity to play with other admirable players, especially Johnson.
 |
| Photo Courtesy of flynncenter.org |
As Johnson and Bird were on board, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullen, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan officially rounded out the roster by September 21, 1991.
Later on, Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner, the only player to come fresh out of his senior year in college, completed the roster by May 12, 1992. The Dream Team was officially assembled and would be coached by the Detroit Pistons head coach Chuck Daly, a man known to deal with various personalities. Daly was the coach of the so-called Detriot "Bad Boys," a team despised by many players in the NBA for their dirty and overly aggressive playing style; Jordan was one of the many who openly shown his discontent in the playing style of the Pistons lead by Isaiah Thomas.
When Thomas was excluded from the roster, many had begun to speculate that Jordan's presence on the team had lead to the exclusion of the infamous point guard. For a while, Isaiah Thomas questions flooded the media and became the forefront of most headlines surrounding Team USA. This is quite possibly the reason why Jordan declined Daly's suggestion of being the captain and face of the squad; instead, Johnson and Bird took up the reigns as the team's co-captains. Pretty soon eleven hall of famers and a NCAA champion packed their bags and headed to La Jolla, California for their first scrimmage against a couple of NCAA all-stars.
Heading into early training, Coach Daly knew that the Dream Team consisted of players who were all probably over their heads. They all had outstanding careers and already established their positions as great basketball players in the eyes of many, including themselves. Coach Daly knew that the team needed to understand that they were not unstoppable, that in any given day, they could falter. So, during a scrimmage against a very young collegiate team full of players who would soon make a name for themselves, guys like Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Chris Webber, Coach Daly limited Jordan's playing time and made awkward substitutions to throw the game, the NCAA all-stars won the contest, 62-54. The scrimmage was a slap to the face and many of the players began to understand the importance of togetherness and working at a high level regardless of the score at any point in any game.
Ever since the scrimmage there was no turning back. The Dream Team went on to dominate in the Tournament of Americas, a tournament that the team needed to do dominate in order to qualify for the Barcelona games.
The team's success was already expected, given the fact that the team had such potential and had already developed a sort of power house label from the very start. What was unexpected was the awe and amount of respect that the opposing team had for them, opting to take pictures with the Americans before and after the contests. At one point during a contest, one of the opposing players took the time he had in between free throws to shake Johnson's hand. The admiration from these teams only showed the importance and the legacy that the Dream Team was about to leave behind for the world to see. By the end of the tournament, the team had beaten their opponents by a margin of fifty points and higher; the dominating did not stop yet.
In Barcelona, the team would cruise to the gold medal game against Croatia, a game that was won by a margin of 32, 117-85, the closest that any team got in contest against the Americans.
The most important aspect of the Dream Team was not the fact that they dominated the way they did nor was it the flashy playing style that they ignited every night they set out to play. The fact that they all banded together as ambassadors of the game is what made the team so great. Many from all around the world got to see the Dream Team play their spectacular games which inspired them to play at a top level themselves. Because of the team, the popularity of basketball increased and reached out globally, touching areas of the world that may have not been as fond of the game before.
As the start of FIBA is coming close, I think that it is fair to say that there will never be a team as great as the 1992 Dream Team in terms of international competition, however, that same drive and passion for the sport is present all around the world and that is because of the 1992 team that not only struck gold, but inspired billions all around the world
No comments:
Post a Comment